snag

Etymology 1

From earlier snag (“stump or branch of a tree”), from Middle English *snagge, *snage, from Old Norse snagi (“clothes peg”) (compare Old Norse snag-hyrndr (“snag-horned, having jagged corners”)), perhaps ultimately from a derivative of Proto-Germanic *snakk-, *snēgg, variations of *snakaną (“to crawl, creep, wind about”). Compare Norwegian snag, snage (“protrusion; projecting point”), Icelandic snagi (“peg”). Also see Dutch snoek (“pike”).

noun

1. A stump or base of a branch that has been lopped off; a short branch, or a sharp or rough branch.
2. A dead tree that remains standing.
3. A tree, or a branch of a tree, fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water, and rising nearly or quite to the surface, by which boats are sometimes pierced and sunk.
4. (by extension) Any sharp protuberant part of an object, which may catch, scratch, or tear other objects brought into contact with it.
5. A tooth projecting beyond the others; a broken or decayed tooth.
6. (figurative) A problem or difficulty with something.
   we hit a snag
7. A pulled thread or yarn, as in cloth.
8. One of the secondary branches of an antler.

verb

1. To catch or tear (e.g. fabric) upon a rough surface or projection.
   Be careful not to snag your stockings on that concrete bench!
2. To damage or sink (a vessel) by collision; said of a tree or branch fixed to the bottom of a navigable body of water and partially submerged or rising to just beneath the surface.
   The steamboat was snagged on the Mississippi River in 1862.
3. (fishing) To fish by means of dragging a large hook or hooks on a line, intending to impale the body (rather than the mouth) of the target.
   We snagged for spoonbill from the eastern shore of the Mississippi River.
4. (slang, transitive) To obtain or pick up.
   Ella snagged a bottle of water from the fridge before leaving for her jog.
   Tickets are cheaper the younger you are—snag a youth ticket (if you're twenty-five or under) for a 35 percent discount. If both you and your travel partner are twenty-six or older, the Small Group Saver will knock off 15 percent. 2017, Off Track Planet's Travel Guide for the Young, Sexy, and Broke
   Your upcoming Instagram beach photos are begging you to snag this bright orange maxi. BEGGING. Like, oof! Do you see that high slit? 10/10. No notes. 2023-06-16, Megan Uy, “25 Absolutely Gorgeous Crochet Clothing Pieces You Won’t Stop Wearing This Summer”, in Cosmopolitan
5. (UK, dialect) To cut the snags or branches from, as the stem of a tree; to hew roughly.
   When felled and snagged, one end of the tree is placed upon a small sledge, and dragged out of the bush by oxen 1846, Sir Richard Levinge, “Echoes from the Backwoods”, in The New Monthly, volume 76

Etymology 2

The Australian National Dictionary Centre suggests that snag as slang for "sausage" most likely derives from the earlier British slang for "light meal", although it makes no comment on how it came to be specifically applied to sausages.Meanings and origins of Australian words and idioms The word's use in football slang originates as a shortening of "sausage roll", rhyming slang for "goal", to sausage, and hence, by synonymy, snag.

noun

1. (UK, dialect, obsolete) A light meal.
2. (Australia, informal, colloquial) A sausage.
   I fire up the barbie and start cooking snags. 2005, Peter Docker, Someone Else′s Country, ReadHowYouWant, published 2010, page 116
   ‘You can get the chooks and snags from the fridge if you want,’ he replied. I smiled, remembering my bewilderment upon receiving exactly the same command at my very first barbecue back in Sydney a month after I′d first arrived. 2007, Jim Ford, Don't Worry, Be Happy: Beijing to Bombay with a Backpack, page 196
   ‘Hungry? We′ve got plenty of roo,’ one of the men said as she walked up. He pointed with his spatula, ‘and pig snags, cow snags, beef and chicken.’ 2010, Fiona Wallace, Sense and Celebrity, page 25
3. (Australian rules football, slang) A goal.
   2003, Greg Baum, "Silver anniversary of a goal achieved", The Age "It just kept coming down and I just kept putting them through the middle," he said. "I got an opportunity, and I kicked a few snags."

Etymology 3

noun

1. A misnaged, an opponent to Chassidic Judaism (more likely modern, for cultural reasons).

Etymology 4

noun

1. (informal, uncommon) Acronym of sensitive new age guy.
   Over time, the ‘sensitive’ aspect of the SNAG has become paramount. 1999, Anthony McMahon, Taking Care of Men: Sexual Politics in the Public Mind, Cambridge University Press, page 103
   Mediadates offers handy tips for online dating virgins and a list of popular abbreviations used in website chatrooms. So you can tell a shag from a "Snag" - sensitive new age guy. 2006-09-22, Jason Deans, “Single white media male. GSOH …”, in The Guardian
   Naturally, the Frat Boy and the Toadmeister decided to hold a contest to see who could “drop the hammer” with Pippi first. Chris’s strategy was to pretend to be a “snag” (Sensitive New Age Guy) in the hope of appealing to her alternative side. 2008 [2001], Toby Young, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo, page 76